Sacrifice
by Shimmering-Sky
Summary: AU, in which Z-ONE doesn't stop Yusei from plunging into the Reactor on the Ark Cradle. This is how his death affects the other Signers, and his sister. Loose ties to my story Blue Sky.
1. 1: Tears From The Sky

***Repeatedly bangs head against the wall* Dang it, Professor Layton fandom. I recently read two fanfics, one titled "Ruin" by The Mocking J, and one titled "Grim Endings" by Vixin2. They ended up killing the main characters (and the Azran prism thing didn't bring them back)…**

**So, what do these two fanfics have anything to do with this one? They inspired it. Shade just **_**had**_** to relate it to Yu-Gi-Oh 5Ds… and so this exists.**

**I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh 5Ds (which is definitely a good thing), but I do own my OCs. **

_**Note: This does not totally follow the events of Blue Sky. Z-ONE is canon-Z-ONE, Yusei still Dueled Z-ONE, and Sky saved him when he fell (also revealing her she-has-wings secret to the world). Everything else follows the events of Blue Sky. Also, the names for each of these will be a play on the name or nicknames of characters.**_

**Sacrifice~Tears From the Sky**

…And with those last words, Z-ONE's body ceases function, and his eye drifts shut.

He did it. Yusei won. The crisis of Arc Cradle should be averted. But no. The future Satellite still descends on Neo Domino City, and the only way to stop it…

Something carrying positive rotating Ener-D must be slammed into the Reactor that this temple carries. It doesn't matter how much of it there is; even the smallest amount will do. So, if we were to turn a Duel Disk on and throw it in there, it would work.

The only problem is that the Crimson Dragon is the only thing powering positive Ener-D (aside from the Rune Eyes of those three guys on Team Ragnarok, according to Yusei, but they should still be recovering from getting Yusei and the others onto Arc Cradle). That means that a Signer _has_ to go with the Duel Disk. Has to plunge into the Reactor _with_ the Duel Disk… and there is no chance of survival for the one who does it.

The others don't know about this. Only Yusei and I do. I know my brother; he's going to do it if I don't. And he won't let me do it without a fight.

Yusei stands up and walks over to where he had left his Duel Runner. Instantly, I jump to my feet and dart over, grabbing him before he can get into the seat. "I won't let you do this, Yusei!" I say forcefully. "I can't lose you…"

"And I can't lose you _again_," Yusei retorts. "Would you prefer it if one of the others does it?"

I shake my head fervently. "No way. We're too close for us to lose anyone… you, most of all, Yusei. You're the glue that holds us together. If you do this, if you die…" Not only would I never be able to forgive myself, I'm sure the other Signers would shut down.

Akiza would definitely take it the worst. I know about her crush on my brother. If he dies, it would break her heart, and, and… A part deep inside of me thinks that she could possibly go back to being the Black Rose Witch…

And the others, equally hard. Jack and Crow have been best friends with Yusei since we were kids. Leo and Luna look up to Yusei like he's their older brother. Losing him…

"But you're the glue that holds _me_ together. I _have_ to do it, Sky," Yusei says with confidence. "The more time we waste arguing, the closer to complete doom the citizens of Neo Domino and Satellite get."

"But you don't understand, Yusei! Leo and Luna look up to you! You, Jack, and Crow are practically family! And Akiza…" I stop speaking, because I'd promised Akiza I would never explicitly tell Yusei she had feelings for him until she was ready.

A glazed look appears in his eyes. "I _do_ understand, Sky. You might not like my decision… but it's mine to make."

He moves towards his Duel Disk, and before I can react, he has his hand on one of the cards on it—_Stardust Dragon_. Something strong and scaley grabs me from behind, and I know what he's done. After all, I did it almost a year ago to Sydney, when she didn't want me to be the only one arrested by Sector Security… except this is under a much, much worse circumstance…

"No, Yusei! Don't do it! Be selfish for once in your life!"

"I'm sorry," he says, getting on the Runner. He looks at me, fresh tears in his eyes, and then looks up at his dragon. "Take her back to the others," Yusei orders.

The dragon obliges, and Yusei disappears from sight as I'm whisked away. Away from Arc Cradle. Away from my brother. "YUSEI!"

By the time _Stardust Dragon_ gets me to the others—on a hill that overlooks a section of the City—I'm almost a complete mess, my throat raw from all the screaming I did, my cheeks stained with tears. I'm at least somewhat functional, because I can hold my own weight once someone pulls me to my feet.

"What's going on?" Jack's yelling at me, but it feels so far away. "Where the hell is Yusei?"

I blink several times. "He…"

My right hand my back, and my head burst into pain so intense the massive migraines I got for almost two months after my fall of the cliff at Crash Town seems mild in comparison. And by mild, I mean like they feel like someone merely poked me.

My hand because of the newfound Mark of the Envoy and my back, the Seal of the Dragon. They hurt for the loss of a fellow Signer. My head because of a much more personal reason. The bond shared by Fudo siblings forcibly severed by death. And that makes the surviving sibling take in horrible pain.

But as I let the agonizing sensations pull me into unconsciousness, I don't care about that.

All that matters is that Arc Cradle has vanished… and my brother isn't coming back.

**XXX**

When I wake up in my own bed, in my own room, breathing oh-so-heavily, I think I just had the most horrible dream. What was it about, though? Why am I filled with so much dread and sorrow?

…Ah, that was it. I dreamed Yusei died to stop Ark Cradle. But that isn't what happened. He beat Z-ONE, and it disappeared. We stopped their plan.

I slide my blanket off of me, kicking my feet off of the side of my bed. I frown when I realize I'm still wearing my clothes from what must have been yesterday—I don't like sleeping in jeans. But I shrug it off, change into fresh clothes, and walk downstairs.

I'm met by silence.

Usually, Bruno is making breakfast with whatever he happens to have on hand, Yusei tinkers with one of the Duel Runners in the garage, and Jack and Crow are arguing about some random subject.

Everything hits me at once. Bruno was lost in Ark Cradle…

…And so was Yusei.

Not a dream. It wasn't a dream. Yusei really is gone…

My spine contracts, and I put one hand over my chest, gripping the staircase railing with the other. He can't… he _can't_ be dead… but he is…

"Sky," a voice says behind me.

Spinning around, I see it belongs to Crow. My friend's face is clearly stricken with grief, but his eye aren't puffy or red from tears. That might be because people have a limit to how long they can cry in one sitting, and I was asleep for at least the entire night. Possibly longer. I'm sure Crow stopped crying awhile ago, but that doesn't mean he isn't still hurting.

"Crow…" my voice is little more than a whisper.

A moment later, I find my head buried in his shoulder, crying my eyes out once again, one of Crow's hands patting the back of my head reassuredly. We stay like this for I don't know how long, until the doorbell rings, and Crow lets go of me. "I'll get it," he says.

So he does, and I can see that the person on the other side of the door has blue eyes and brown hair, styled with a bun in the back. She has an old-looking pink headband with cat-ears on it. My final note is her age. She looks like she's about fourteen.

"Uh, hi," the girl says. "Is this where Sky Fudo lives?"

"And you are…?" Crow asks.

"I'm Mia," she replies. "Is Sky here?"

"Yes," I say, nudging Crow to the side. "I am she."

"Oh, good!" She starts rummaging through her bag for something, muttering to herself about 'where did they go…?' Finally, she pulls out a stack of envelopes, and hands them to me. I look at the first, and my insides freeze.

It says my name… but it's in Yusei's handwriting. "What is…? Why do you have these?"

"Well, uhm…" Mia trails off, staring at the ground. "I'm a, uh, spirit medium… in training. I can't control when I contact the, er, dead yet. Sometimes I can't even control _who_ I contact. Anyways, I thought I fell asleep last night, but when I woke up, I was sitting at my desk with a bunch of these letters in envelopes surrounding me."

"Wait… spirit medium? Why would you…?" I gasp. "How do I know you're telling the truth?"

She hands me a simple slip of paper, and I read it.

_Dear Mia Wright,_

_I thank you for channelling me to tie up several of the loose ends I left behind. I'm sure you've seen all the envelopes by now. Please do not open them; they are meant for whoever is named on each envelope. Instead, take them to my sister._ Our address is listed.

_If she doesn't believe me, show her this._

_Sky once faked her death by falling off a cliff. She "died" in my arms, giving me a necklace. Her necklace. If that fails to prove that this is real, then I can say that her last words were "Be brave, Yusei"._

_I thank you again for your assistance._

_Sincerely,_

_Yusei Fudo_

I read the note again. And again. And again. It's _his_ handwriting, mentioning an event that only the two of us knew… My last words when I faked my death…

I want to believe this note, and whatever I might find in the envelope marked with my name. But I also don't want to believe, because for all I know this Mia is lying…

In all seriousness, what _are_ the odds that this is fake? _No one_ else knew about how I told Yusei to be brave. _No one_. And I've talked to both of my parents along with a handful of others who are dead. What's to say this is any different?

"I… thank you, Mia," I say.

"You're welcome, I guess," she replies.

The voice of a young man comes from the street. It shouts, "Come on, sis! We have places to be!"

"Coming Phoenix!" Mia shouts back, turning on her heels. She looks at me one last time. "Oh… and I'm sorry for your loss." With that, she runs back to the car parked on the street.

My eyes fall back to the envelopes in my hand. There's one for me, Crow, Leo, Luna, Jack, and Akiza. I look at Crow, whose face is a mixture of disbelief and sorrow. I hand him the envelope with his name on it.

"You… believe that she's really a spirit medium?" Crow asks.

"Yeah, I do," I reply.

He half-closes his eyes, looking at his envelope.

"I'm going to get these to the others," I say, holding up the rest of the envelopes. "You have any idea where they are?"

"I think Luna's in the Spirit World," Crow replies. "No one has seen her for two days."

'_Two days? That means I was out for that long… dang,'_ I think.

"I'm pretty sure Leo and Akiza are at their respective homes," Crow continues. "Although, I have no idea where Jack is aside from the general direction of Satellite. Rally might know something."

"Rally?" I ask. I remember him, he was one of Yusei's friends in Satellite, and one of the four that helped bring back his Duel Runner after the first Shadow Turbo Duel with Kalin. But how does he know Jack? "Why would he know where Jack is?"

"It's complicated," Crow replies. "But I'm sure that he'll be able to tell you where Jack is if you find him."

"Alright…"

**XXX**

I find Luna in the Spirit World, surrounded by her Duel Spirits… and Yusei's, as well. I can't bear to look at _Stardust Dragon_, so I keep my gaze on Luna and hand her one of the envelopes.

I find Leo at his and Luna's apartment, desperately trying to talk to a Duel Spirit to see where his sister is. Of course he doesn't have the ability to see or hear them, so it's more or less pointless… I tell him that Luna is fine, and give him his envelope.

I find Akiza in her room, entirely unresponsive. She just sits in a chair beside her window, staring outside of it. Apparently her parents can't even get through to her. I try to tell her things to see if I can get a response, but I don't. Eventually, I give up trying to make her respond, and leave the envelope on the windowsill in front of her.

Last but not least, I find Jack in a dilapidated theatre in Satellite. Rally told me he liked to go there to think or something, and what better time to go off and think than now? I note several fist-shaped holes near the entrance, and also the fact that Jack seems to have injured one of his hands… I give him his letter, tell him it's the real deal, and leave.

It's time for me to read my letter.

**XXX**

_Dear Sky,_

_I'm sorry. I can say it a thousand, no, a trillion times and it still won't show how much I regret causing you and the others so much pain. I _was_ being selfish, you know, when I did it. Those were your last words to me, weren't they? "Be selfish for once"?_

_When you faked your death all those years ago, I took it hard. I couldn't sleep, I barely ate, I just couldn't function. Kalin's death made it worse. If Martha, Jack, and Crow hadn't knocked sense back into me, I probably would have died._

_I was scared that I would go through that again._

_As I'm writing this, I don't know how you're reacting to my death. Are you internalizing it, like you did with our parents' deaths? Or have you shut the world out, like I did when I thought you had died? I hope you've done the former, because I don't want you suffering like that._

_Don't wallow in the loss. I want you to move on. Find someone to love. Get married. Have kids. Just because I'm gone doesn't mean that your life has to end now. I don't know how long you'll live on Earth, but trust me, I can wait until we are reunited. Mother and Father can as well._

_Until we meet again._

_Your brother,_

_Yusei_

**~Tears From the Sky~**

**This is only the beginning… for there is more to come. It won't be in my comfort zone—I'm having there be a chapter per Signer, to see how they feel about this… And then I might add one at the end where the reactions to their individual letters come into play. Just because.**

**Goodness, it'll be hard keeping them in character.**

**Uhm… please review? Even if it's you saying you absolutely hate me for killing Yusei? I just want to know how people feel about this.**

**Also, I may or may not have included a head canon of mine. And an OTP from a series completely unrelated to Yu-Gi-Oh 5Ds. I really don't care if you spotted that, but hey! Mia's back!**


	2. 2: A Crow's Clipped Wings

**Alright, I think I've set my mind on this story getting monthly(ish) updates. Here comes the first time I've ever really attempted a first person POV from someone who isn't an OC of mine… So, if I screw over his character, I'm really, really sorry. I've tried my best, but sometimes my best is pathetic.**

**I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh 5Ds, but I do own my OCs. **

**Sacrifice~A Crow's Clipped Wings**

I throw an arm up into the air, shouting, "You did it, Yusei!"

Everyone else has their own form of celebration, but we're all thinking the same thing: Yusei saved all of us. He used out dragons to force that _Ultimate Temporal Machine God Sephiron_ to battle, and it worked! Yusei beat Z-ONE!

The Ark Cradle's light starts turning off and stops descending, but it doesn't disappear. It just… starts to fall apart. "Oh, shit!" I exclaim. "We need to get out of here!"

The Crimson Dragon ends up saving us, because the part of Ark Cradle we were on falls before we can get to our Duel Runners. It teleports us to a hill, and man am I glad that happened. I don't think that dying would be great, right after Yusei saved all of us.

Heh, I can't give Yusei all the credit. I mean, if Sky hadn't caught him—definitely going to ask about the wings when they get here—then this wouldn't have been possible.

Actually, why is it that they aren't here? Wouldn't the Crimson Dragon have brought them back as well? "They… they're still inside!" I shout.

Sherry makes a comment about Yusei's future of death not changing, but that can't be it. Not if Sky is there. She wouldn't let anything happen to him.

"Ah! Look there!" Akiza shouts, pointing at something moving towards us from the giant upside-down city.

I can't make it out at first, but then I can tell that the thing coming for us is… _Stardust Dragon_? Why wouldn't Yusei just fly his Duel Runner back down? Why would… wait, is that Sky? Yusei's dragon is carrying Sky, and it looks like she's trying to get out of the dragon's grip.

Okay, now I want to know what the hell is going on.

The silver dragon places Sky on the ground, and the golden-haired woman just collapses to her knees. I pull her up, and go to ask her the question we all want to know, but the fact that her cheeks are stained with tears makes me hesitate.

So Jack beats me to the punch.

Sky blinks a few times. "He…" she turns to look at Ark Cradle.

At that exact moment, my Mark bursts into pain like I've never felt before. _Worse_ than anything I've ever felt before—which is definitely saying something because I've been through _quite_ a few extremely bad injuries.

And then, just like that, my arm stops glowing and the pain just lingers for a few moments. But then even that fades away.

Sky screams in agony, and then collapses. I barely manage to catch her before she hits the ground.

What just happened…? My attention turns to Ark Cradle, which is slowly disappearing. I have my answer. Before I can even think about it, I'm shouting, "Stop! Yusei's still inside!"

My words must mean nothing, because it continues turning into sparkles… before totally vanishing from existence.

Time seems to stop. Yusei just… Yusei just…!

**XXX**

None of us understand _why_. Yusei had everything to live for, and yet… why would he stay on the Ark Cradle? WHY WOULD HE COMMIT SUICIDE LIKE THAT?! But the only one who knows any sort of answers is Sky, and she's still unconscious—has been for two days. She's the luckiest of us, being able to sleep peacefully.

Man, Yus'… You've really left a hole in all of us. A gigantic… gaping… hole…

I shrug the blanket off of me. I was _trying_ to sleep, but failed… the entire night. It'd be time to get up on a normal day.

Normal. What I wouldn't _give_ to see a day like that again.

Today, however, I can't go down the staircase. Sky is awake, and she's blocking the stairs—gripping the railing as hard as she possibly can with one hand and I think she's on the verge of hyperventilating.

I want to say something to her. Anything, really. But the only thing I can manage to get out is her name.

She turns around, fresh tears in her eyes, and whispers my name in response.

Scratch my earlier thought. Sky's the _unluckiest_ of us. I might think—have thought—of Yusei as a brother, but Yusei _was_ her brother. He was her only immediate family member left alive.

And so I find myself reassuredly patting the back of her head as she sobs into my shoulder. The whole time, I'm fighting to keep myself from crying—I've done more than enough of it in the past few days.

Then the doorbell rings. Sky really isn't in the best condition to get it, so I say I will, wipe whatever tears had welled up in my eyes away, and open the door. There's a girl outside… maybe fourteen or something? She's wearing a purple kimono thing, and has the oldest-looking headband I've ever seen sitting on the top of her head.

Her blue eyes meet my grey ones. "Uh, hi," she says. "Is this where Sky Fudo lives?"

That isn't really common knowledge, despite her pseudo-fame because of the WRGP. Why would this girl know where Sky lives? I don't recognize her at all. "And you are…?" I ask in response.

"I'm Mia," she replies. Then, as though I answered her first question, she adds, "Is Sky here?"

I'm about to come up with a response to make this girl go away, but Sky pushes me to the side and says, "Yes. I am she."

The girl's face brightens. "Oh, good!" There's a pause as she rummages through her bag. She ends up pulling out a stack of envelopes, and hands them to Sky. When my friend looks at the first one, she takes a quick breath, and her eyes widen. "What is…? Why do you have these?"

I peak at the envelope, to see why it shocked Sky. Now I see why. Her name is on the front of it, but that's not what shocked her. It's the fact that the name is written in Yusei's handwriting.

"Well, uhm…" Mia stares at the ground. "I'm a, uh, spirit medium… in training. I can't control when I contact the, er, dead yet. Sometimes I can't even control _who_ I contact. Anyways, I thought I fell asleep last night, but when I woke up, I was sitting at my desk with a bunch of these letters in envelopes surrounding me."

Of course. A spirit medium. This is why nothing is _ever_ normal around us.

Sky wants to know how we can tell if she's telling the truth, and Mia hands over another piece of paper. Sky doesn't show it to me, but it looks like she reads it a few times, before looking at Mia. She thanks the young girl, and some guy calls Mia away.

I'm guessing that means Sky believes Mia's story. But I definitely don't.

Sky looks at the envelopes for a moment, before closing the door. She hands me one of the envelopes—it has my name on it in Yusei's handwriting. Just like Sky's. "You… really believe she's a spirit medium?" I ask.

"Yeah, I do," she replies.

I narrow my eyes at the envelope. If Sky thinks it's true…

"I'm going to get these to the others," Sky announces, holding up the other envelopes. "You have any idea where they are?"

Akiza's been cooped up in her room ever since it happened. Luna… hasn't been seen, making me suspect she went to the Spirit World. Leo should be at home, since he doesn't really have anywhere else to be at the moment, and Jack… is somewhere in Satellite. I tell all of that to Sky.

When she leaves, I look at the envelope. Should I read it? What if it's a load of bullshit?

But Sky believes it's true… so I should give it a chance.

**XXX**

_Dear Crow,_

_I'm sorry I didn't have time for an actual goodbye. _

_As I'm writing this, I know that you think I pointlessly committed suicide by staying behind on the Ark Cradle. All of you except Sky would, because you don't know the full story._

_Ark Cradle was never going to vanish just as soon as Z-ONE was defeated in a Duel. Positive-rotating Ener-D had to be slammed into the negative-spinning Reactor it held to make it go back to its own time. There was no time to tell the rest of you about that. It was either me or Sky who would do it… and I chose for her._

_Please, make sure Sky doesn't go through what I did after we all thought she died. …Actually, I never _did_ thank you for that, did I? I can't remember if I did. So… thank you. And I… hope you will do the same for my sister, if it gets to that point._

_Make sure she doesn't blame herself for this, either. It's no one's fault but my own. _I_ chose to force her off the temple. _I_ chose to be the sacrifice that would save millions. I know you or the others would have taken my place in a heartbeat, but I wouldn't be able to live with that._

_Thank you, again, for everything. I hope this works as a goodbye, albeit one-sided._

_Until we meet again. _

_Your friend,_

_Yusei_

**~A Crow's Clipped Wings~**

…**Hmm, I'm actually satisfied by how that went about. Sure, I'm not really including the dialogue of all the characters, but that's because I'm focusing on the one the chapter is about, not the others. Once all the chapters are through, you'll be able to see the whole picture.**

**So, between Leo, Luna, and Jack, which one would you like to see next? I've already set my mind on Akiza's being last, which is why she isn't an option for the next chapter. I would really like to know who you want to see, because it's easier to know who I want to do and then think of that chapter than thinking of all three of them at the same time.**

**Please, leave a review! I'd like to know how I did!**

_**Note: To any Blue Sky fans reading this, expect the upload of its sequel, Midnight Sun, to be on Sunday.**_


	3. 3: Wrath of the Fallen King

…**Okay, it's been a little bit longer than a month. Sorry, it's because I had to fight my brother for the computer and then kept getting distracted. Also because I went to camp for a week.**

**Anyways, I'm going to get the chapter started soon. Just… don't kill me if I make Jack OOC.**

**I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh 5Ds, but I do own my OCs.**

**Sacrifice~Wrath of the Fallen King**

I knew he could do it. Anyone who can defeat me would have been able to pull that off. …And he even needed _my_ help to do it.

Strange. Shouldn't Ark Cradle have disappeared by now? It's already stopped descending. That means it should disappear… any second now… but it's not. It looks like gravity kicks in, and the buildings attached to it start plummeting down on Neo Domino. We all start running for our Duel Runners, but it's obvious we aren't going to make it in time.

That is, until the Crimson Dragon saved us. While I don't like needing anyone's help… I'm glad we're safe. On a hill… somewhere that gives us a clear view of the Ark Cradle.

Without Yusei or Sky.

Crow remarks that they're still inside, and Sherry—she thinks that Yusei is still on the path to his death.

"No! We beat Z-ONE and changed that future!" I shout. "Besides, Sky would _never_ let something happen to him!"

"Ah! Look there!" Akiza shouts.

We all follow the direction she's pointing. Something is moving towards us from the Ark Cradle. It can't be Yusei's Duel Runner, though. It would be glowing red. This thing isn't glowing, and it looks like it's struggling to fly. Like it's carrying something that doesn't want to be carried.

…Wait a second, is that _Stardust Dragon_? Carrying Sky? Who is screaming at the top of her lungs and trying to get out of the dragon's grasp? _Without_ Yusei?

I, Jack Atlas, am not normally confused. But right now, I am.

Because that _is_ Yusei's dragon, carrying an unwilling Sky—who is not only screaming but also crying—and without Yusei.

It's clear that _Stardust Dragon_ tries to put Sky down gently, but my friend still just collapses.

We stand there, frozen, until Crow pulls her to her feet. That snaps me back into attention, and I shout, "What's going on? Where the hell is Yusei?"

"He…" Sky starts to say.

She gets cut off by all of our Marks bursting into pain. "Ngh…!" I grunt, grabbing at my right arm. I look at it, and everything gets even more complicated, because it's glowing a dark crimson, almost black. It hasn't done this before. And it _hurts_.

It stops just as soon as it started. The end of it signified by Sky screaming bloody murder and then falling.

Something draws my attention to Ark Cradle, which is just now starting to disappear.

But… but Yusei is still on there…! "I won't let Yusei die! Like… like _hell_ I will…! Stop disappearing!"

It doesn't listen to me. Of course, since it's an inanimate object. But… it should still…

Ark Cradle completely vanishes from existence.

**XXX**

Dead. Yusei is dead. I never expected to hear those two words in the same sentence, unless _is not_ was between them. _Yusei killed himself_. A sentence that shouldn't exist, and yet it does, because he stayed behind on Ark Cradle.

Some kid darts out of an alley while chasing a ball, and I have to slam the brakes harder than I ever have before. The kid looks up at me, clutching his ball tightly, and whimpering. I glare at him. "Scram, kid. Not everyone will be kind enough to stop."

"O-Okay!" he squeaks, running back into the alley he came out of.

"Tch. Stupid kid." I look back at the road, and I'm almost about to start going again when I realize where I am.

The old theatre I used to sit inside for hours on end.

No one will bother me in there.

**XXX**

As soon as I enter the building, I let out everything I'd been keeping inside since we figured out Yusei was dead. I spin around, and plant my fist in the wall. I don't care about the damage I'm causing to the building or myself.

I just need to get rid of all the anger I have inside.

It's mostly anger at Yusei. He had _everything_ to live for. Family. Friends. He'd just saved Neo Domino and Satellite. _He_ could have had the girl he wanted, unlike me. _Everything_. And he just up and throws it away, leaving the rest of us to deal with it. He didn't even _say_ anything to us. …Well, maybe he said something to Sky, but she's been out cold for two days.

But… the _real_ cause of my anger isn't Yusei. It's something that I really don't want to admit.

I haven't cried at all since he died. My eyes haven't even started to so much as water.

There's absolutely no reason I _shouldn't_ be crying. I just lost my rival, my best friend, my fucking _brother_. So then… why? Especially when I cried after I beat Carly, and I thought she died. I'd only known her for, what, a month? And I've known Yusei almost my whole life, and haven't cried over his death…

"Dammit… D-Dammit all!"

_Crack._

Great. I think I just broke my hand. I look at it—bloody, bruised, and when I try to move any of my fingers, it sends a powerful jolt of pain up my arm.

Definitely broken.

But I still have so much _fury_ to let out.

"Why did this happen?!" I scream at the ceiling. "Yusei! You better damn well hear this… wherever you are! You! Are! A! Fucking! Idiot!"

I don't know how long I stand there, shouting at the sky. All I know is that I end up sitting down on that crummy old throne, out of breath, with a sore throat, and cradling my broken hand. Thinking.

**XXX**

The sound of someone scuffling around the entrance pulls me back into reality. I sit up, blinking several times, until my vision focuses on the soul who dared to enter this place… Sky.

Impossible. She doesn't know of this place! No one else knows I come here, except… Rally. That, and the fact that Sky's been unconscious for two days…

"I see you got in a fight with something," Sky says, eyeing my hand.

"Hmph." I shift my weight, hiding my injured hand underneath my other arm.

She purses her lips, and then continues to walk towards me, looking around the theatre as she does so. "Quite a nice haunt you've got yourself. Fitting, too, with that throne you're sitting on."

"I'm no king," I snap. "Yusei was. He took that title from me… and now I can't get it back."

Sky stops, and looks down. Then she shakes her head. "Here, this is yours."

An envelope… with my name on it… written in Yusei's handwriting…? "What is this?"

"A spirit medium gave that to me," Sky says.

"One of those people who claim to be able to talk to the dead? Hah! As if."

"It's real, Jack," Sky says. "Trust me, it's real."

I look at the envelope, and then look at my friend. She looks entirely serious. I look back at the envelope. "Fine."

Sky turns around, and walks away. She stops by the entrance, and calls over her shoulder, "Oh, and Jack? Make sure you get that hand looked at when you're done."

"Hmph."

When she leaves, I stare at my name. It definitely looks like Yusei wrote this. If he _did_… I can't think of when he could have before… before Ark Cradle.

Fine. I'll read the damn thing.

**XXX**

_Dear Jack,_

_I'm sorry I didn't have time for an actual goodbye._

_As I'm writing this, I know that you think I pointlessly committed suicide by staying behind on the Ark Cradle. All of you except Sky would, because you don't know the full story._

_Ark Cradle was never going to vanish just as soon as Z-ONE was defeated in a Duel. Positive-rotating Ener-D had to be slammed into the negative-spinning Reactor it held to make it go back to its own time. There was no time to tell the rest of you about that. It was either me or Sky who would do it… and I chose for her._

_Jack, I don't know if this is what you want to hear, but I'm giving up all claim to the title King of Turbo Duels. I never wanted to be it in the first place, remember? It's your title now, if you want it. Sorry you couldn't win it back in a Duel, like you wanted._

…_Could you also keep an eye out on Sky? I don't want her to suffer like I did. Just make sure she doesn't shut out the world._

_Thank you for everything._

_Until we meet again._

_Your friend and eternal rival,_

_Yusei_

_PS: Don't keep shutting people out, like that reporter Carly._

**~Wrath of the Fallen King~**

**I think I like how this turned out. Although I probably wrote Jack all wrong… oh well, if I did.**

**Alright, I know some of you might want me to do the twins in the same chapter, but I don't really want to (it would be a lot longer than the other chapters). So… which of them would you like to see next, and how did you guys like this chapter? Please, leave a review!**

**Also, if you like this story and want to read something that's like it (but doesn't **_**actually**_ **kill Yusei as of yet), check out a story titled "Don't", by StardustRose22. It's awesome and deserves way more views than what it has. Bye for now!**


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